Tool chest for scrapbook making

ABSTRACT

A tool chest for holding scrapbook making supplies. The tool chest has a tool storage area with a top surface with a groove located thereon, and a picture staging area located above the storage area, and having at least one picture holding device designed to laterally move along the groove. The picture holding device includes a telescoping portion which has a telescoping stem that can be raised or lowered, and wherein the stem has the ability to bend and retain its position. The tool storage area includes a vertical item holder, a drawer; and a compartment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to scrapbook making. In particular, there is a customized tool chest designed to hold various scrap book tools, parts and pictures.

2. Description of the Related Art

Ever since the creation of the camera, people have assembled photo albums. Recently, people have discovered the art of scrapbook making. Many tools have been developed to assist the scrapbook artist in creating unique pages for their scrapbooks. For example, there are literally thousands of rubber stamps, specialty cutting scissors, stickers of every kind, colored paper, buttons, beads, paints and the list is growing.

However, as the scrapbook tools have been proliferating, people have been storing them in boxes and cabinets that are not designed for the specific craft in mind. People have been using cardboard boxes, paint boxes, paper bags, plastic bags and many other ill-suited containers. These containers may work well for storing the tools, but they are not useful during the creative time when making the individual pages of the scrapbook.

The following patents are examples of other devices related to this illustrated embodiment(s), which are herein incorporated by reference for their supportive teachings, wherein:

-   -   U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,075, is a floral arrangement with gift box         support;     -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,883, is a desktop organizer;     -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,371, is a desktop pen, eyeglass and picture         frame holder;     -   U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,594, is an assembly for holding desk         equipment;     -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,621, is an accessory kit and/or assembly for         a scrapbook, photo album or the like;     -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,990, is a desk top organizer; and     -   U.S. Pat. No. D451,962, is a design patent for a desk-top pen         and paper holder.

It is believed that none of the listed patents teach or make obvious the illustrated embodiment(s). These patents are presented to discharge the inventor's duty of candor and for presenting background information related thereto.

Therefore, there is a need in the scrapbook craft for a customized tool box. There is a need for a customized tool box that not only serves as a good storage container, but assists the artist during the creative process of making the individual pages of the scrapbook. Specifically, there should be a means for organizing individual pictures that are to be placed on the scrapbook page prior to being placed thereon. It would also be helpful if there were a means to assist the artist in visualizing where those pictures and associated parts may be placed on the scrapbook page prior to placing them on the page. Additionally, it would be useful to have a means for holding the pictures and associated parts off of a work surface after they have been modified by cutting, etc.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available customizable scrap book art. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an invention that relates to scrapbook making. In particular, there is a customized tool chest designed to hold various scrap book tools, parts and pictures.

There is in particular a tool chest for holding scrapbook making supplies. The tool chest has a tool storage area with a top surface with a groove located thereon, and a picture staging area located above the storage area, and having at least one picture holding device designed to laterally move along the groove. The picture holding device includes a telescoping portion which has a telescoping stem that can be raised or lowered, and wherein the stem has the ability to bend and retain its position. The tool storage area includes a vertical item holder, a drawer; and a compartment.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram illustrating one embodiment of a tool chest for scrapbook making in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram illustrating another embodiment of a tool chest for scrapbook making in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating one method for holding scrapbook pictures prior to placement onto a scrapbook page.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Additionally, throughout the specification, reference is made to a “tool chest”. Wherein, one skilled in the art should recognize that there are many forms of the illustrated embodiment that may fit the description of “tool chest”. For example, a tool chest is intended to cover any tool holder, a tool box, a tool container etc.

It is further noted that reference to the wording “tool” in the following specification is to be taken in the broadest meaning possible. For example, “tool” is intended to include paper, scissors, stickers, pens, staples, rubber stamps, ink pads, pictures, scrapbooks, or any other item that is used or contemplated to be used in the scrapbook making art.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram illustrating one embodiment of a tool chest 10 for scrapbook making in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, a tool holder 12 is illustrated as having many sizes and shapes for compartments that are to hold many different scrapbook tools and items, like paper, scissors, stickers, pens, staples etc. Positioned atop the tool holder 12 is a picture holder portion 14. The picture holder portion 14 includes an anchor portion 16 designed to hold, to the tool holder 12, at least one flexible and bendable extension 17, which are illustrated as wire stems 17. Attached to each extension 17 is a resilient picture attachment device 18 having a resilient center portion 20. The resilient attachment device 18 is designed to hold a picture 22 by wedging the picture 20 into the attachment device like a paperclip would hold onto a sheet of paper. The picture holder portion 14 is designed so that several resilient picture attachment devices 18 will display individual pictures 22 in different locations and heights to form an arrangement of pictures. This arrangement of pictures function allows a scrapbook artist to position several pictures relative to each other, prior to being permanently placed on a scrapbook page. The bendability of the extensions 17 (illustrated by bend 19) also enables the artist to place the pictures 22 in more specific locations other than what is allowed from just using the pre-positioned extensions 17 locations.

In one embodiment, the bendable extension 17 may include several picture attachment devices 18 attached to the stem 17. In another embodiment, there may be separate attachment means 16 for each stem 17. Additionally, another embodiment has the separate attachment means 16 for each stem 17 that may be positioned at different locations on the tool holder 12.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram illustrating another embodiment of a tool chest for scrapbook making in accordance with the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the tool chest 50 has a tool storage area 52 and a picture staging area 54 located above the storage area 52. Specifically, the tool chest 50 includes vertical item holders 56, drawers 58, and compartments 60. The tool chest 50 has a top surface 72 that has at least one picture holding device 62 attached thereto. The holding device 62 has a picture retainer 66 that is designed to hold pictures 64 that are being worked on prior to being placed into a scrap book 65.

In one embodiment, the holding device 62 may be minimally designed to include a stem 67 that is a single piece of material capable of holding a picture 64 thereon in a picture retainer 66, much like that already illustrated in FIG. 1. However, the holding device 62 may also include a telescoping portion 68, which has a telescoping stem 69 that can be raised or lowered into the telescoping portion 68.

In a further embodiment, the telescoping portion 68 may also include additional telescoping pieces 71 to assist in further vertical adjustability.

An additional embodiment enables the stem 77 to be made so that it will have the ability to bend and retain its position such as is illustrated in the illustrated bent position 73.

Yet, a further embodiment allows for one or more holding devices 62 to be laterally moved 75 along a groove 70 that is located on the top surface 72. This will enable the scrapbook artist to have additional lateral control of the positioning of the pictures 64 prior to permanent placement of the pictures 64 into a scrapbook 65.

In another embodiment, all of the tool chest components 54, 56, 58 and 60 may be placed in any order commonly know or imaginable to one skilled in the art, and are not intended to be limited to the specific locations that are illustrated.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating only one method for slidably retaining the picture holding device 62 to the top surface 72 as was illustrated in FIG. 2. In addition to the elements illustrated in the previous figures, there is illustrated a first holing piece 74 that is abutting to a bottom side of the holding device 62 and positioned on a top side of the top surface 72. There is a second holding piece 76 that are positioned on a bottom side of the top surface 72. A connecting rod 78 extends from the base of the holding device 62 and extends down past the bottom side of the top surface and has a head 79 attached to an opposite end of the rod 78. A resilient means 80, illustrated in the form of a spring 80, is positioned between the head 79 and the second holding piece 76.

In operation, the spring 80 will force the first and second holding pieces together to frictionally retain the picture holding device 62 in one location. However, a user may lift up on the picture holding device 62, thereby eliminating contact between the first holing piece 74 and the top surface 72. This will allow the user to slide the picture holding device 62 along the groove 70 to a different position.

It is particularly noted that although there is only one slidable retaining means illustrated in FIG. 3, it is contemplated that any other retaining means known to one skilled in the art will be sufficient. Specifically, a clipping device may work, one that functions much like a clothes pin that opens and closes onto a clothes line.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. 

1. A tool chest for holding scrapbook making supplies, comprising: a tool holder having at least one compartment that holds different scrapbook supplies; and at least one picture holder portion positioned atop the tool holder, and includes: an anchor portion designed to hold, to the tool holder, at least one extension; and a resilient picture attachment device attached to the extension, and having a resilient portion designed to hold a picture thereon.
 2. The tool chest of claim 1, wherein there are two picture holder portions, where the first picture holder portion is taller than the second picture holder portion.
 3. The tool chest of claim 2, wherein the extension are bendable.
 4. The tool chest of claim 3, wherein the extension is a wire stem.
 5. The tool chest of claim 4, wherein the extension includes at least two picture attachment devices attached to the stem.
 6. The tool chest of claim 5, wherein the anchor portion includes several separate anchor portions for several picture holder portions.
 7. The tool chest of claim 6, wherein each of the anchor portions are designed to hold more than one picture holder portion.
 8. The tool chest of claim 7, wherein the anchor portions are is positioned at different locations on the tool holder.
 9. A tool chest for holding scrapbook making supplies, comprising a tool storage area; and a picture staging area located above the storage area.
 10. The tool chest of claim 9, wherein the tool storage area includes: a vertical item holder; a drawer; and a compartment.
 11. The tool chest of claim 9, wherein the tool chest has a top surface that has at least one picture holding device attached thereto.
 12. The tool chest of claim 11, wherein the picture holding device has a picture retainer that is designed to hold pictures that are being worked on prior to being placed into a scrap book.
 13. The tool chest of claim 12, wherein the picture holding device includes a stem that is a single piece of material capable of holding a picture thereon in a picture retainer.
 14. The tool chest of claim 9, wherein the picture holding device includes a telescoping portion which has a telescoping stem that can be raised or lowered.
 15. The tool chest of claim 14, wherein the telescoping portion includes additional telescoping pieces to allow for further vertical adjustability.
 16. The tool chest of claim 13, wherein the stem has the ability to bend and retain its position.
 17. The tool chest of claim 11, wherein the picture holding device is designed to laterally move along a groove that is located on the top surface.
 18. A tool chest for holding scrapbook making supplies, comprising a tool storage area has a top surface with a groove located thereon; and a picture staging area located above the storage area, and having at least one picture holding device designed to laterally move along the groove.
 19. The tool chest of claim 18, wherein the picture holding device includes a telescoping portion which has a telescoping stem that can be raised or lowered, and wherein the stem has the ability to bend and retain its position.
 20. The tool chest of claim 18, wherein the tool storage area includes: a vertical item holders; a drawer; and a compartment. 